Sketchy Business

Bye bye Blogger

2011-09-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

But not bye bye blogging.

I've moved my blog over to my website www.garywintle.com for anyone that would like to check out my latest work or whatever ramblings I have going on.

Thanks!

日本の大麻 aka Cannabis in Japan

2011-02-15T21:01:00.000-08:00

Moving to Toronto this month has me thinking that I'm going to really miss Japan when I'm gone. The past year and a half has flown by.

It reminded me though that I really have been wanting to put my old Cannabis in Japan story for Cannabis Culture Magazine in a format better suited to the print look it was created for. Not sure if this Issuu thing does that, but I figure its worth the try.

If you know anyone who love the chronic and Japanese culture get their eyeballs rolling this way!

Money Bomb

2010-10-14T00:03:00.000-07:00

I was asked come up with something for a big fund-raising thing to help Marc Emery pay for a lawyer to help get him back to Canada.

Not one to waste such an opportunity, I decided to make the image using 3d software to make a polybong of my very own! I'm still really new to 3D, but hope to get better at it with time and open up while new windows to ganja related design and cartoon wackiness.

I first went with this angle. I used the 3D to make the shape and used Illustrator to do all the graphical touches. Folks weren't so big on this angle though, since it didn't look so much like a bong and was a little cheeky with the "Bong" text.

I'm so happy to have clients that understand how to give thoughtful criticism, there's many folks I know who've worked with real shits.

Props must be given, because yes this looks much better I think. Might look a bit bare at this size, but it's meant to be readable to an extent at a small Facebook friendly size.

Be sure to check out more info about the big fundraiser this Saturday! Make a donation, help fill the bong and make a difference today!

Oscareddit: More Nugget than Muppet?

2010-10-12T05:09:00.000-07:00

Breaking off from tons of work today, I realized it's been way too long since I've posted something. Sometimes I'm in the middle of projects that my clients would like me to remain quiet about and that's okay, but it gives me not so much to blog about.

I got inspired by a reddit/r/trees post saying that Oscar should really be a mascot to r/trees since the ever grouchy one looks like a nug! This guys is what I imagined and came up with when seeing that post.

I gotta ask if they'll let me put this up on my Chronic Cartoons!

UPDATE!

Decided to add a joint and a little leaf love too. :D

Stick it to the Man!

2010-08-10T06:13:00.000-07:00

Jodie Emery asked me to come up with a few bumper sticker designs, so I made a few different flavours for people's different tastes. Now, I know some people certainly don't want a sticker like this on their actual car (medical patients and people that don't carry though, sure!). But hey, I don't have a car and am sticking these bad boys on my laptop. Desks, bongs, stash boxes....what would you put this sticker action on???

They're not printed yet, so head to Marc Emery's Facebook page and let your favourite be known!

Go Tommy, Go!

2010-08-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong fame is once again on the tube donning the design I whipped up for the Uncanny Marijuana Activist Marc Emery. As proud as this lowly artist is to see him sporting my work, I'm way more jazzed that he's helping Marc get all the attention he deserves in his time of need.

Check it out below or head to ye ol' link

Thanks, Tommy!

Free Marc Stencil!

2010-07-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

Here's my try on "stensiltizing" the Free Marc image. This picture above though is simply a photoshopped tester image.

Here's the original that I made for Marc...maybe almost a year ago now? At the time though, he really wanted me to make a stenciled version of it and got really excited telling me about all the places he wanted to see it, stickin' it to the man.

I never got around to it though and felt lousy about it. I made a fist through the bars stencil, but just didn't feel confident enough to do a good job on it.

Thanks to a recent email though, I thought I just had to give it a solid shot. I hope it's looking okay. What's tough is the balance between it looking like the original image and being humanly possible to cut. I'd certainly recommend an exacto knife and a steady hand.

Now here's the big problem: I have no printer! Is anyone willing to test this puppy out for me? If it works, great. If not, please let me know and I'll try to fix it up or any Photoshop friendly folks can fix it up themselves.

Anyways, feel free to spread this around if you feel like it, don't worry about credit or any crap like that except to check out www.freemarc.ca and Cannabis Culture for more info!

Here's a higher-res copy if anyone needs it.

Early Cannabismas

2010-07-22T08:20:00.000-07:00

For anyone interested in Dana Larsen's pot-filled parody Hairy Pothead, I thought I'd show a new illustration for the upcoming sequel, Hairy Pothead and the 420 Code.

How about this new picture step-by-step of our dread-headed protagonist Hairy with the Weedly family?

Here's my pencils. As you can see, there's a few changes between this and the others below. Can you spot the differences? Hint word: tapeworm.

For this project, I decided to use traditional inking. I use to do a lot of inking with vectoring programs on the computer, but am digging the look my scribbles with the nib and ink bottle lately.

Colouring though, I'm still all for the digital side of things. Being cheap as a kid, I hated the physical limitations of running out of colours. When all that art software came out, I was hooked! Also managed to put in some Free Marc action. Hopefully that deadhead who designed it won't notice I stole it.

And that's it, hope you like the pic. I'm not sure if I should write anything at all on this blog and just show the art. Let me know if there's anything you're curious about and I'll try my best to explain it. Thanks.

And remember kids: there's nothing that hard work, no showers and dual plaid can't solve.

"GIVE ME MORE COFFEE!!"

2010-06-06T05:25:00.000-07:00

I'm terrified to learn that I have about no way to make money where I live now (another story for another time) other than my freelance art jobs, so if any folks know where to look for future clients do let me know!

In the meantime, my fear of living off the flash of hermit crabs has led me to make an ass-load of Zazzle shit. Check out the many wonders here. This Coffee-san man was made with the help of my wife. For any of you folks who's got a caffeine-addicted friend or family member, send them this link and remind them of the dark hole they crawl into when deprived of this sweet, black nectar.

More regular, what I'm working on and whatnot kinds of posts coming in the near future!

People Hatin' Cats!

2010-02-24T00:51:00.000-08:00

I decided to try and tackle this kitty character from Tex Avery's "The Cat who Hated People". I like the design a lot, nice and simple.

I think progress is coming too. Very slowly, but surely. I'm doing the Famous Artists Cartoon Course too where I'm learning lot of valuable lessons that compliment this form of study.

Still a lot of mistakes though! I was pleasantly surprised at how well the bodies went. I find it difficult to be dead-on with bodies, but this is lot lots closer than I've ever gotten.

I've taken more time in the earlier construction steps which is paying off.

Most errors I found were in the cheeks and the eyes. The eyes, damn the eyes! I just have such difficulties capturing the life in them. I am taking greater note in understanding them as solid objects though.
I did a second run on the faces I found the most errors in.

Improved?

Bunny Practice

2010-02-19T02:02:00.000-08:00

I decided to take a shot at this guy from Preston Blair's book.

I have been doing lots of drawing, but but not so much Preston Blair lessons and it shows. Oi!

Unfortunately, the second attempt isn't looking much better. Actually, it's kinda worse in some ways.

That leg is way off and the arms need to stretch out some more too.

Line of Action

2010-01-18T08:50:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the lack of updates, folks. I'm getting hitched in a few months here in Osaka and the madness of marriage planning has reared it's mighty noggin'. But I digress... Line of Action!

I started right at the beginning of Prestons Blair's page here. These first pics are pretty small though and hard to distinguish.

I find I'm still toning down stuff a lot, but at least I'm more aware of it now. I usually do some single sketches of some, then do two go-overs of some others. That's okay, right?

When I first finish these drawings, I feel so proud of myself. I think "wow! Perfection, man!"

Then the mistakes rear their ugly, badly structured heads. I write down all the mistakes while looking at my art over top of the Preston Blair one's. The details are on the paper, it feels a lot more natural to critic my stuff that way while it's fresh in my brain.

I feel a lot better about these one's than my previous posts, so I hope that's a good sign, but...

Still lots of mistakes! The left one's off-kilter body and middle one's arms are embarrassing. I still feel my drawings are missing something in the eye's too. I must be getting the shapes a little off still.

I'll try to get stuff up more regularly, but wedding stuff and work (to pay for said wedding) has really taken a toll! This training is paying off so well though, I gotta keep it up.

Learning 3D through Monstrous Creatures

2009-12-24T20:20:00.000-08:00

All hail 3D dog! This creepy little guy is part of the 3D software book I'm going through right now.

I'll admit, the design of the dog in the tutorials isn't really to my liking, but the book is great and well thought out. I haven't been left in utter confusion like I though I might have been.

I've tried learning Maya with other books, but this one's really hands on. Other ones teach you the tools, but not how to use them.

I'm only part way through of course but am really getting a better understanding already. I'm really hoping I'll be able to use this knowledge combined with John K's valuable blog.

I truly hope that with a solid understanding of this stuff combined with an understanding of all John's been teaching that I'll be able to start making things that maybe...don't look quite like this guy!

Chuck Puppy

2009-12-17T20:59:00.000-08:00

Here's a sheet I did while ago, but lost the second run in my move here to Japan. Blast! But no excuses, let's move on.

After working on this for a bit I began to regret working on Chuck Jones' stuff. I find it pretty tough figuring out the basic shapes used to make these pics.

I still feel that I'm toning down the images a bit, but reversing the images has helped me out, giving me a fresh look after seeing these for a while.

I'm pretty happy with what I learned from doing these images, but think I've been straying too far from the Preston Blair book. I'm going to head back to those pages and tackle some Chuck Jones stuff a little later.

Just a quick not if you are reading this, John or anyone striving for cartoon goodness:

I'm in Osaka, Japan right now and saw something that instantly made me think of what you're teaching us all here. I was walking in the middle of Namba which is the main shopping district here. Among all the hustle and bustle, Japanese cartoons, illustrations, video ads and general eye-catching craziness that Japan's known for I saw one kid literally being dragged by her mom away from something.

It was a small screen playing an old (I'm pretty sure) Tex Avery cartoon.

The kid's eyes were glued to the wacky, cartoony, unrealistic chaos on the screen. Kids all around the world I think, even in what some might call the "new cartoon capital" love these older quality cartoons. This is an art form that just has to be brought back to the forefront. The kiddos want this! We gotta do it for them.

Anyways, I'm not always the best at putting my thoughts together on the internet, but wanted to share that little experience for anyone putting the time (likely more than myself) into these lessons that John's teaching.

Thanks.

Me-ri Ku-ri-su-ma-su!

2009-12-06T17:57:00.000-08:00

My apologies for the delays on posts. I've just moved back to Japan and am settling back in now. To make up for my laziness, here's some wild Japanese Christmas stuff and other lovely off-model goodies.

Osaka's been a second home for me between traveling around for quite a few years now. One thing that's hard to miss is just how much more Christmas stuff appears every year.

I think there's something about rabbits living on the moon with Santa Claus, but I'll have to ask my girlfriend about it.

Also, I was walking downtown and found many cartoony treats at an "American Cartoon Store". Pics below.

What I really love about this country is not only all the illustrated sign (airports, police signs etc all use cartoons instead of photos), but the amount of store and item sale signs that are handmade by staff. I'll be sure to keep a close eye for more goodies.

Thanks for the new comment on my cartoon practice, John. It's a huge motivator!

A Whole New... PERSPECTIVE!!!! weh waw...

2009-11-23T04:26:00.000-08:00

Been a bit late on the posts! I'm moving back to Japan in a week and got swept up in all the craziness. I do have some toons just about ready to put up, but thought it might be best to put this bad boy up.

I've always sucked at perspective and have finally taken the effort to go over any info I can find the key to this fancy skill. This is only one point perspective and I followed a tutorial to boot. I have been practicing two point and yes even three point perspective too.

Bugs

2009-11-02T21:52:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the crap pics. The travel's tough with a scanner, so I've always used a camera. Good for portability, but lousy quality at times. Anyways, Bug's one cartoon that I've been dying to draw, but he's tough!

Aww, the beautiful originals. I'm going to go through this whole page, but it's a damn lot to draw in one go!

As usual, I fool myself into thinking these drawings look good until I compare them. Flaws...REVEAL!

I already wrote down most of my nitpicks on the paper. What I've most noticed is I need to make the cheeks puffier, teeth bigger and as always watch the eye shape.

I do notice that the poses are toned down. I think I need to go over John's blog again regarding the line of action. I feel like I get it when I read about it, but have problems putting it into practice.

I think these second passes do look better, but but can still use some work. More bugs to come.

Search test for John K

2009-10-30T01:56:00.000-07:00

If you're interested in what some search results on your site look like, John; here's what I got. It may be my crap computer, but I only cropped the top and bottom of this pic, not the sides. So, on my pc your logo seems cut off a bit on the left. Again, it might be a problem on my end.

Hope this help... and new post is coming soon, promise!

More Sketchin'

2009-10-16T13:02:00.001-07:00

So these HB charaters are just a bit trickier than I thought.

My first attempt is full of bad proportions, the details should be clear to read on the pic. Oh wait, my writing is horrible though.

I was a lot happier with my second attempt here. I tried my best to be conscious of the mistakes I made previously.

As you can see, Poc's looking a lot rougher than McGraw. The mistakes are less but still too many! Like I said, these HB huys I find tougher to handle. They look simpler than the Preston Blair/Disney type stuff, but the shapes are a lot rougher to decipher.

While I do love making these complicated blog posts, I find doing too many big ones takes up lots of time! Not that I mind putting time into this, but I may start trying to do posts that are simpler as well as these big ones.

Thanks to anyone reading!

Tom and Jerry #2

2009-10-07T01:02:00.000-07:00

These Preston Blair drawings showing the steps has really helped me wrap my head around making these guys.

These originals look so great.

These are kinda horrid. I'm going to have to go through these again and make some of my own poses.

Oof, that middle Jerry is rough. I may have to step up the drawing even more if I'm going to improve.

Tom and Jerry #1

2009-10-02T23:36:00.000-07:00

Here's my first go on Tom and Jerry from Preston Blair's book. I didn't think it looked so bad from the get go, but compared to the original, there's many fuck ups.

Aint' that a beauty?

I think the biggest problem with Tom here is that I didn't stretch out the line of action far enough. Also, I have to keep fluidity of the line work in mind more when doing these.

Here's some more detailed notes on both of them.

This is my second attempt. Still needs lots of work, especially on the legs. More of these guys from the rest of the page coming soon.

Bamm...BAMM!

2009-09-26T22:52:00.000-07:00

This is my first go at any kind of HB art. It really is tougher than it looks! The shapes on the cat-thing I found tough to exactly pinpoint. I gotta find some good rough HB art to get a better idea as to how I can tackle this rad art!

Lots of mistakes here, but I just wanted to dip my foot into the strange and wonderful HB pool.

Preston Blair Dog #2

2009-09-24T22:36:00.000-07:00

So, here's the some more sketches from Preston Blair's book. I already scribbled in some notes. I just have to take more time on each picture I think. I just get way off on the core of the drawing and that messes up all the later steps.

I gotta keep it up though! I am seeing improvement and the more I'm learning the more I'm enjoying drawing.

Here, you can see just how off these are. I think I'm going to go over most of these from the past two days again and try to fix what I messed up on from before.

Preston Blair Dog

2009-09-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to take more time on each of my drawing's but am still having mad problems getting proportions right.

I have to keep it up though! Holy crap is this going to save me time in the long run!

I think I'm still shitty enough that I need to practice on simpler formed characters.

Another thing I'm still playing around with is my process in making these blog posts. I'm trying to use my tablet some days, but I think it's easier writing the errors on good ol' paper.

I'm going to go for a second pass on most of these and finish off the other soon.

I'm heading back to Japan in two months now. Man, I'm looking forward to drawing lots of wild things there. Yosh!

Mickey's Head

2009-09-08T23:50:00.000-07:00

I decided today to concentrate on Mickey's head. Look for his body soon!

The originals here are going to be tough to match.

My first attempt here is absolutely terrible. I find though that even after drawing just one head I feel more at ease with the pencil.

Lots of notes, but I gotta learn from my mistakes.

I can't believe that I haven't been doing this for so long. I always looked at drawing other people's drawing's was tracing. What I didn't realize was just how much you learn not just tracing, but building up and learning how the drawings were made in the first place.

Here's my second attempt.

Still not perfect, but a lot better than the first attempt! I still made the same mistakes with the muzzle and eyes. Eyes are so tough to make well!

Next I'll work on putting a body with that head. Until then, I have to get back to work on projects that are paying the bills! I'll post some sketches of it soon.

Duck Practice

2009-09-04T23:04:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt on the duck guy from Preston Blair's book. As you can see, the errors are too numerous to point out.

My second attempt is looking better, but still has lots of errors. But I am learning from my mistakes.
I have to learn to take it slower during the first stages. It always pays to count heads!

Again with the strong foundation being something I gotta strive for.

Trying my best to keep the perspective in mind.

And not so bad?

Here's the original

Blast!

Still lots of problems. I am seeing improvement though the more I draw. I'm going to keep going through John's blog and the other ones he recommended.

Head Practice

2009-09-02T01:50:00.000-07:00

These doggy heads have been really helpful in grasping solid forms!

The originals looks so great. Damn, I gotta practice more. I think I'm having the most problems with eyes. My guys have a certain dead souless look to them. Any eye drawing blog posts out there?

I'm starting to get the hang of a fancy new tablet pc right now too. I'm still horrible with it, but I think it's got some great potential. The cheeks here are always a little off too...

Here's a couple extra heads and a few of my own. More coming very soon.

More Sketches

2009-08-28T10:04:00.000-07:00

Here's some more sketches hot off the pencil.

Preston Blair Head Fun

2009-08-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

This one's my second attempt and still not looking so hot! I feel like I'm not capturing right flow of the image, especially the eyes.

Gotta practice this some more.

There's still lots of out of whack proportions in my drawings, but I think I'm getting a bit closer. Below are the other heads from Preston Blair's book and a few of my own.

Ganbatte!

New Blog

2009-08-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

After having a tough time putting posts on my barebones html site, I decided to start posting on this blog instead and have it link from my site.

For those interested check out my portfolio page for all my old work. Or check out Cannabis Culture Magazine's site to see my tale of smoking cannabis in Japan

John K Cool Kid Stuff

2009-08-21T11:05:00.000-07:00

Being someone who's blog retarded, I was hesitant to start this up.

It's John K's blog that has inspired me to jump in and try my hand at improving my drawing.

Or, to be more specific, his new private teaching blog inspired me to get my ass in gear. The only way to get in is to prove you have the chops. I'm far from being good enough now, but I hope to practice, keep it up.

Here's chipmunk pic from the Preston Blair Book. (Image quality's bad on my versions of this book)...and here's mine. Not too bad?

BAD! Lots of big mistakes here. Proportions are all off and the ass is far too eager. So I have a lot to prove, but I truly believe in the wisdom that John's passing onto people willing to learn.

Here's some more of the sketches I did from this page.